


Well This is New

by Megellarose



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Minor Character Death, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:53:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25634608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megellarose/pseuds/Megellarose
Summary: Marinette's life is far from perfect, but she never expected it to turn so dark. So when her father dies in an akuma attack, she can only blame herself and she breaks down.With there superheroine mysteriously gone, Paris crumbles. Their only hope is Chat Noir. He's the only one who can get to her, so naturally, overtime through hurt and comfort, they get a little closer than just friends.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 16
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you so much for being here, I have big plans for this fic, so stay tuned!
> 
> Since this is the first chapter, it's a little long, but I promise future chapters will usually he between 1000 - 3000 words depending.
> 
> Seriously, thank you for reading, it means a lot that people actually enjoy it.

She had always seen life in color.

Poppies and roses bursting with pinks and reds, street lamps glowing a soft gold into the evening sky, and her partner’s luminescent green eyes.

Her life was a colorful one, where yes, she had problems and difficulties, but who was she kidding? She was lady luck. She had a way with people, always finding a way to brighten their smiles and find her own success through hard work. 

And she was incredibly grateful.

Marinette strolled down the streets of Paris, soaking up the last bit of April sunshine and daydreaming about a certain someone. A soft smile rose to her lips when she saw her home; a quaint little bakery just across the street. 

Once inside, she kissed her mother on the cheek, waved to her dad, who was practically waist deep in flour but that was per usual. She snickered and started the climb to their apartment, then to her room.

After changing into pajamas and flopping down on her chaise, Marinette pulled out her phone, opened Instagram and shrieked.

“AH! Oh my gosh!! Oh my gosh, no!” Marinette rolled off the chaise and proceeded to bang her fists on the hardwood floor. Tikki zipped over to her.

“What?! What’s wrong?” Concern flooded her tone.

Marinette lifted the phone to the little creature and spoke, muffled, into the floor, “Look.”

Tikki peered at the picture and gave Marinette a puzzled look, “I don’t see the problem. In fact, this is incredible!” She threw her tiny arms up in the air and squealed.

Marinette growled, “WHAT?!,” she flipped the phone to face herself again, “What do you mean, ‘incredible’? HOW is THIS ‘incredible’??” She went back to flailing her legs around and thumping her fists into it once again. To Marinette, this was absolute torture.

Tikki shook her head and took another look at the picture. There, in Marinette’s Instagram feed sat a picture of her, swooning by her locker and staring dreamily at something inside it. She looked breathtakingly gorgeous and the photo looked like it was taken from a few feet away, so she must have been really distracted. 

The caption said, “Look at how pretty my friend is!” Marinette was tagged beneath the caption with a yellow heart and the picture was blowing up with likes.

“Marinette! I don’t see how this is a bad thing!” She zoomed up to her face, “You should be immensely happy!” Tikki held Marinette’s face in her little palms. Oh sweet, innocent, Marinette. Worrying this much over a boy.

“But-”

“No buts. Now reply.”

“...W-what??”

“Reply to him.”

“TIKKI ARE YOU KIDDING ME??”

Tikki covered her ears as Marinette frantically babbled about how embarrassing it would be and blah, blah, blah. “Marinette, you’re being irrational. Is there even a real problem here?”

Marinette glanced up and the small scowl and after a minute of thought, shyly said, “Well, yes actually.”

Tikki’s expression softened back to it’s usual motherly warmth. She laid a hand on Marinette’s shoulder, “What is it?”

“I hate to say it,” she mumbled. She didn’t want to say it. She didn’t want to think of Adrien as anything less than perfect. Because he was perfect. ...Wasn’t he? “But… he took a photo of me without consent. And… and that’s not okay.” Her brows furrowed and her eyes darkened into Ladybug mode.

“But you look incredible! It’s a good photo! And you know Adrien never meant any harm.”

She glared at Tikki. “He took a photo of me without consent. That’s not okay.” The girl realized the harshness of her tone and thought, maybe she didn’t need to go full Ladybug for this, but she was determined. With the flare of bug still in her eyes, she gazed at her kwami and spoke, “I don’t care how much I love him, I need to stand up for myself.”

Tikki was a mixture of pride and guilt, but despite that she told her owner, “Of course. Good choice Marinette! I believe in you!” And she meant it. But a piece of her worried. 

Ten minutes, a lot of walking and some rain later, Marinette arrived at Adrien’s front gates. She reached out, but her index finger paused just before hitting the doorbell. Was this a mistake? What if this ruined their friendship? 

No. That’s silly, of course it wouldn’t ruin their friendship, in fact Adrien would probably respect her more for this. And that was just the right amount of motivation she needed to jab her finger into the button. She couldn’t hear the ring, and it left an ominous silence. 

She opened her mouth to say something to Tikki, who was hidden away in her bag, but the security camera whipped around and stuck it’s lens right in her face.

“U-um-”

“Miss Dupain-Cheng?” A voice echoed out through the speakers. Nathalie. “What are you doing out so late at night?” Marinette furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; it was barely nine o’clock. 

“And in this rain, too. You’ll catch a cold,” Nathalie’s voice was monotone, but Marinette could sense the care and concern etched in her voice. A little smile perched on her lips, but she shook her head and blurted, “I’m here to see Adrien. I have a matter I’d like to discuss with him.”

She inwardly winced at herself. She had purposefully tried to match Nathalie’s tone, and she did not like the way those words sounded leaving her mouth. But her act had paid off, for the gate opened a tad and Marinette slipped inside.

Striding through the great halls and rooms she realized she had no idea where she was going. She was wandering about in Agreste mansion. Come to think of it, shouldn’t the bodyguard have been at the front door waiting for her?

She cautiously turned around and stepped back to the entryway, “Where is everybody?” She murmured to herself curiously, when she heard a booming, evil sounding laugh and a heavy thud coming from her left. 

What was that??

She laid eyes on the large door about twenty feet to her left and couldn't help but stalk towards it. Was this a bad idea? She kept walking. 

Marinette pressed an ear up to the door to listen. 

“I DON’T CARE NATHALIE!,” a man’s voice boomed from inside followed by another loud thud. She gasped a little, thoughts flooding her brain. Mr. Agreste? Why is he yelling? But Nathalie’s so sweet! What’s going o-

Her eyes widened as she heard steps approaching the very door she was pressed up against. Shit. She turned on her heel and bolted, only to hear the heavy door opening and a voice say, “Marinette? I mean, Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

She skidded to a stop. “Uh, oh, hey! Mr. Agreste I was just, um, looking for Adrien! Would you happen to know where he is?” She nervously babbled, hoping she didn’t seem too suspicious. She was Marinette, after all, maybe he would just assume she was being her usual clumsy self and was lost in the mansion. 

“Nathalie let you in, didn’t she?”

“W-what?” His eyes were narrowed at her, his gaze cold, and hard. She wanted to shrivel up in that moment. Instead, her eyes matched his and she straightened.

“Yes, she did.”

Something glinted in Gabriel’s eyes, some sort of recognition. Respect? Frustration? “Goddamn, what was she thinking,” he mumbled under his breath, looking down at the floor, then back up at Marinette. “Adrien is at fencing practice. He should be coming home soon.”

“This late?”

He glared at her.

“I-I’ll see if I can catch him on his way back,” she got the words out, whipped around, headed straight for the door and was about to yank it open before she took one last look at Gabriel.

His rigid stare held her in place and fear began to sink it’s way into her face. “Be careful on your way home Miss Dupain-Cheng,” he spoke after a moment. “You never know what might happen to you out there. All alone.”

What?

Suddenly the foyer was filled with a very off, dangerous feeling. Marinette shuddered slightly and let out a nervous laugh before she squeaked a quick “Goodbye!,” and fled out the door, slamming it behind her. 

Well, that was absolutely terrifying. 

Where was all the staff? What were those loud thudding noises? Why was Mr. Agreste yelling at Nathalie? Why was Adrien out so late? 

Marinette's head pounded in rhythm with her running feet. The rain soaked her hair and clothes, chilling her on the outside, but her lungs were burning on the inside. Once she was far enough away from the Agreste Mansion, she stopped to catch her breath, and bent over, coughing. 

“Marinette?”

“AH!” She jumped back and slipped on a wet rock and began to topple over. A hand grabbed her arm and she screamed, only to find herself inches away from Adrien Agreste and underneath the safety and dryness of his umbrella.

“Sorry Marinette, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he looked at her with genuine concern and innocence. Marinette found herself very aware of their closeness under the small space of the umbrella, and the heat of their bodies melting together. A rosy tint found its way onto her cheeks, but hopefully it was too dark for him to notice. 

She shivered and he gazed at her quizzically, and without thinking he moved to her side and wrapped his arm around her. “Better?”

Marinette’s blush deepened, “Uh, y-yeah.”

“So what are you doing out so late in the rain?” He started to lead her back towards his house. She shouldn’t be out in this weather. He glanced at her again. She was so small and cute, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he let her catch a cold.

She stopped him. She didn’t want to go back to the mansion, in fact all she needed was to talk to Adrien anyway, then she could go home.

“Actually, I… I need to talk to you.”

His heart gave the lightest flutter until he saw her serious expression. His stomach dropped. Oh shit, what had he done this time. All he wanted was a happy friendship with her, and he always seemed to screw it up.

“Y-yeah?”

“Well, I saw the picture you posted of me today…”

“Oh! Yeah, did you like it?”

Oh. He was so excited to see her reaction. His green eyes were sparkling with adoration. Oh no. 

“No, Adrien.”

“Wait, what?”

“You… ah, you took a photo of me without my consent,” she looked up at him, serious, yet hopeful that he would understand.

Adrien’s heart sank. Shoot, she’s right he wasn’t thinking. “Oh God, Marinette, I’m so sorry.” A nervous hand flew up to his neck, “W-what do you want me to do? I-I can take the picture down, whatever you want. I’m so sorry.”

Shit. He couldn’t believe he’d messed up like this. He just thought she looked really pretty! Wasn’t it normal for friends to casually post about each other? Or maybe just best friends. Maybe they weren’t as close as he thought they were.

“No, no, that’s okay. I just wanted you to know that it made me a little uncomfortable and that what you did was not okay.”

Now, he felt small next to her. Her lecturing tone put him in his place and he found himself suddenly very attracted to her. Despite that, he cautiously pulled his arm away from her and distanced himself from her a bit, but still kept the umbrella over her, getting himself drenched in the process. 

“I’m so… I understand, Marinette. Thank you for telling me.”

“Thank you.”

There was an awkward pause between them, Marinette staring off into the distance and Adrien staring intensely at the ground. 

Finally, he spoke up, “Hey, the rain doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon, would you like me to take you home? Or get a ride?”

He sounded hopeful, and Marinette felt a twinge of guilt. His beautiful eyes held sorrow and she hated that it was because of her. She tried to keep her tone light as she spoke, “No, that’s okay. You’ve been away from home long enough, and my home isn’t that far.”

“What? Mare, are you kidding me? It’s like 5 miles from here!”

“It’s fine, I walked all the way here.” She started to leave the safety of the umbrella, her dark, navy locks getting soaked again.

“But-” He swiftly moved the umbrella back over her head. 

She turned and pressed her hand to his, the one holding the umbrella. “Adrien, seriously. It’s fine.” 

The electricity of her touch jolted through him and he knew he didn’t want to see her go. He wanted to pull her back under the umbrella and walk her home, where maybe she would invite him inside and they would joke with her parents. 

Sabine would flip on the T.V. to an old sitcom and they would start making cookies with Tom. The two friends would bump into each other and poke fun at one another as they made a mess of the kitchen. Tom would ruffle his hair and call him son. Their laughter and joy would be wrapped up in the sheltering comfort of the warm lanterns by the windows. Sheltering them from the storm outside. 

Him and Marinette would then cuddle up by the T.V. under a blanket and watch the show. She would rest her head on his shoulder and he’d rest his on top of hers. They’d fall asleep cozied together to the sound of the iconic laugh track and the distant rain. 

Instead, here they were, standing in that same cold rain. She pushed the hand holding the umbrella back up to his chest, giving it back to him. She held it there, at his chest for a moment, their eyes locked, searching each other. 

He brought his other hand up to hold it and she let go. She was now standing alone in the rain, clothes drenched, wet hair sticking to her face, and rosy tint hovering on her cheeks. But through all of that, she stood tall, and strong. Determined. Independent. Beautiful as ever. 

Adrien gawked at her. When did she get this gorgeous? She had always been pretty, but now… her strength was the most attractive thing about her.

CRACK

A huge clap of thunder jolted him out of his thoughts but her expression never changed. She didn’t even flinch.

Woah.

“I’m gonna go now. Be safe, and get home quick Adrien, okay?” She looked at him with a protective gaze.

He took a much needed deep breath, “Yeah. Yeah okay. Thanks, Marinette.” Her name sounded different coming out of his mouth. 

“Of course, see ya at school tomorrow!” She waved and she left in the other direction.

He stood there. Watching her walk away. Completely entranced.

What… what was that?

A heat rose to his cheeks and his stomach did a flip.

Well this is new.

. . .

Marinette trudged through the rain, arms folded over her chest for warmth. The wind sliced through the frigid rainfall and smacked her side. She shivered and peered through the blur of weather. 

Ugh. She was nowhere near her house. Adrien was right, she wouldn’t make it on foot. Pulling out her phone with a frustrated sigh, she dialed Papa. 

As it rang, Marinette heard a snapping of twigs behind her and whipped around. Her eyes swept across the buildings, alleyways, roads and occasional trees and bushes; nothing. Deep breath.

She inhaled, but heard the sound of a single, heavy footstep and rushed to glance over her shoulder. Her breathing quickened and she started walking, not wanting to stay in one place. 

Another snap. Two more footsteps. Marinette’s feet sped up to an uneven jog. 

SNAP.

She bolted. 

Oh my god oh my god!

Her mind raced through all the terrifying scenarios she could possibly be in. Was someone out to get her?! No, that would be ridiculous, why would anyone be after her- OH NO! Did someone find out she was Ladybug?!

Her heart pounded in her chest and her lungs burned. She passed by dark buildings and alleyways that held the unknown, and with her wild imagination on edge, her feet thudded even faster at the thought of what could possibly be lurking in there.

“Be careful on your way home Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

Mr. Agreste’s words echoed in her head.

“You never know what might happen to you out there. All alone.”

A hand landed on her shoulder and she screamed, running as fast as she possibly could. She panted and jumped again when her phone vibrated in her hand. She brought it up to her face and could barely make out that her dad had answered the phone. Lifting it to her ear, she yelled, “Hang on, Papa!”

In desperation, she ducked into the nearest alleyway, internally smacking herself for making such a stupid choice. Whatever was chasing her was out of sight, so she cautiously answered the phone. “Dad?”

“Sweetie, is everything okay? Why are you all out of breath?” She allowed herself a small smile. She was incredibly grateful for her father’s concern. She could always count on him and her mother to look out for her. Her dad has his own special way of doing so, too. He was goofy, and fun, and he and Marinette had this type of code, where he would crack some sort of stupid joke and if she was feeling okay, she would joke back. He’d give her a sweet, sympathetic smile that would say everything that a joke couldn’t, and she would return it.

“Yeah,” she breathed, “I’m okay. Can you, uh, pick me up please?”

“Of course, love. Where are you?”

Fifteen anxious minutes later, and Tom Dupain picked up his safe, unharmed daughter. After an intense questioning, he sighed, “Mare, I love you. And I’m worried about you.”

Marinette stiffened, “It’s unlike you to cut classes and make disappearances. You seem so busy and exhausted all the time. Is everything okay?”

Thanks, dad.

“Yeah! Everything’s fine! I’ve just been really busy with art, and school, and stuff.” She tried to relax. She was both tense from her dad’s suspicions and her midnight excursion. 

“You never know what might happen to you out there. All alone.”

“If I didn’t know you any better, I’d think you were Ladybug!” He laughed to himself, but the two made eye contact in the rear view mirror and Marinette watched in horror as realization poured onto his face. She pleaded him with her eyes to be cool!

His gaze landed back on the wet road ahead, “Just…” He took a shuddering breath, “Take care of yourself. Please don’t put yourself in danger.”

She turned to look at him, knowing she couldn’t fulfil that promise. 

“Dad, I-”

“AHH!”

Her dad frantically spun the wheel and the car swerved to the left as Marinette turned just in time to see a black, smokey mass plow into them, sending them tumbling backwards. 

Even with her seatbelt on, Marinette was flung to the side, her head smashing into the car window. Somehow, she was still conscious when the car stopped moving. She reached up to her throbbing forehead and her fingers came back bloodied. 

She surveyed her dad, who had been flung over toward the passenger seat and was slowly pushing himself up, coughing. “Papa-”

Before she could ask him if he was okay, the car, and them with hit, was suddenly being lifted off the ground. Marinette screamed and stared at the thing that was holding them up. She was staring into dark, glowing, violet eyes that glared back with unmistakable hatred.

An akuma. She thought, but was too late because soon they were launched into the air at impossible speeds and through her screams Marinette caught a flash of the ground zooming towards them. Her scream was stifled as the car landed on it’s side and spun furiously across the street and into a park. 

Marinette’s thoughts were jumbled. Head hurts. Her dad was screaming. She was screaming. Bones cracking. Eyes watering. Pedestrians shouting. The clashing of leather seats and metal parts whirring around her. 

The car slammed violently into a tree and she was thrown backwards into the armrest console and she felt the wind knocked out of her. She gasped for air and lifted her head, but couldn’t find the energy to sit up, so she dropped it. 

Finally her breath steadied, just in time for someone to rip open the car door and grab her. She screamed again, but then noticed it was just a crowd of pedestrians trying to help. A pair of arms laid her on the ground and she heard their concerns.

“Someone call 112!

“Oh, mon Dieu, oh mon-”

“Help! Someone! Ladybug! Please!”

Her head hurt like the devil but she tried to push up off the ground with her left arm but lightning jolted through her and she yelped in pain, falling back to the grass. People rushed to her aid, but she brushed them off, “I’m- ahh, ow, I’m… o-okay, thanks guys… where’s my-”

She had sat up with her right arm this time to search for her father, but what she saw before her would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Her eyes widened in shock and fear as they landed upon her father’s motionless body, covered in scrapes and bruises. She didn’t dare look at the blood pool slowly expanding onto the seats. 

Her stomach tightened, she couldn’t speak. Her vision went blurry. Tears stung in her eyes. “N-no,” she choked out. Her breathing turned choppy. “No!” She tried to stand, wobbled and was caught by the group of worried citizens around her. Her legs felt like lead and her mind whirled. 

She stumbled towards the car, “NO!” A hand grabbed her arm and tried to hold her back.

“Honey, no, don’t look.”

“PAPA?!” Tears were streaming down her face, mixing with the blood. “PAPA NO!” Another hand on her arm. Then her shoulder. Her hand. Her waist. “YOU CAN’T-” She choked, “YOU CAN’T! NO!”

She rammed through the hands with a burst of power fueled by heartbreak she had never felt before. But she fell to the ground, pain zipping from her ankle to the back of her neck. She winced and landed on her knees. 

Clouds flooded her head and she felt her breathing speed up and she focused as hard as she could on the blades of grass gripped within her fingers, but she couldn’t get the image of her father out of her mind. “No- you- please…” Her mind went fuzzy.

She suddenly felt herself tugged up from the ground, and heard the soft thud of knees dropping down to the ground. A muffled voice yelled at her, calling her name. The voice shook her shoulder gently. Then a hand held her waist and cradled her head to shift her into the person’s lap. They pulled her head into their chest and rocked her slightly. They leaned their head against hers, almost desperately, and with their lips so close to her ear, the fog in her mind cleared enough for her to hear them. 

“Mare, Mare please. Please be okay. You’re okay. You’re with me now. C’mon M, stay with me. I’ve got you just breathe. Just stay with me, please, love. Please.”

Her heart warmed at the sound of his voice but the warmth was immediately replaced by cold again when her thoughts traveled back to her father. Her breaths quickened again and she grabbed hold of his dark shirt and scrunched the fabric in her hands as tights as she could. 

He held her closer, and through all the pain, she felt safe.

“It’s okay, Mare. It’s going to be okay.”

“I’m here.”


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien’s heart pounded in his chest and he couldn’t for the life of him hold Marinette close enough. Her head dug into his neck and her fist tightly clenched his shirt while the other hand held onto his back like she was going to be ripped away. 

Tears fell from her eyes as she ugly cried into him. Deep sorrow consumed him and he felt his own eyes prickle. A wave of protectiveness crashed over him and he wrapped his arms around her back, holding on tight. 

Her whole body shook and she let out a heart-shattering sob. Adrien couldn’t bear it. “Marinette…” He murmured, lifting his hand up to her head and tangling his fingers in her hair. 

Her sobs softened a bit and he held her head in his hand as she pulled away slightly, completely unaware of the crowd quickly growing around them and the crash site. He stared deeply into her eyes, concern written all over his face. She was in complete shock, he could tell. Despite the tears flooding down her face and her shivers, her eyes had gone dead. The light that had always been there, always comforted him, always entranced him, was gone. 

Staring at the girl in his embrace, memories of her flashed through his mind. The time she rolled into class on roller skates because she asked Alix to teach her and thought it would get her to class on time. The time when she taught him how to play cards, and he had laughed so hard. Then she had to go, but saw the disappointed look on his face, so she sat back down.

“I can spare a few minutes,” she giggled and shuffled the cards. That day she showed him how to lay the cards out in seven piles and figure out how to get them all in order. She’d taught him how to play solitaire, so that he could still play cards even without a partner. 

From that day on, whenever he was down or bored or needed a friend but couldn’t visit them, he’d grab the deck of cards his little lady had so generously gifted him, and go play a game of solitaire. A smile would always work it’s way onto his face, because he always thought of Marinette. 

He became aware of the warmth of her body in his hands and it reminded him that she was still alive. Alive. She was still alive. She was still with him. He cracked the smallest, sweetest smile at her, praying for the light to come back.

Recognition flashed in her eyes but it faded as soon as it appeared. His eyes turned sorrowful and he pulled her in again, but this time, his arm slid down her back and the other hooked underneath her legs and her scooped her up without a sweat. 

She barely made a noise and just buried her face deeper into his shirt. 

He took a step in the direction of her home when a voice called out from the crowd, “Wait, what are yo-” Adrien glared at them and the person shrunk back. He inwardly questioned himself, he didn’t know why he glared. 

He brushed it off and took off running. Marinette snuggled deeper into him and his stomach fluttered. The pounding of his feet thudded through him and he worried, wait, what if this is too much for her? He slowed at a crosswalk and while waiting for the light to turn green, he glanced down at her. 

She had been somewhat calm before, but Adrien could tell she was thinking about it again because she wailed and began sobbing violently once again. His grip on her tightened, and his feet itched; he wanted to just run away with her. Take her away from all her suffering. He had to keep her safe. 

The light turned green and he took off again, but then remembered her possible discomfort and his sprint turned into an awkward skip. Marinette didn’t seem to notice his awkwardness at all, but Adrien still blushed. Why was he being such an idiot? He couldn’t believe he was worried about this after what had just happened.

Just get her home.

He settled on a swift walk, trying to keep it smooth for the girl in his arms. His head spun with worry and his blood pumped with adrenaline. After passing by seemingly endless trees, streetlamps and onlookers, Adrien finally turned a corner and found himself in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. 

A breath of relief, and he flew inside, busting the door open with his foot. The bell rang out in the background but his voice overpowered it, “Mrs. Cheng!” His voice roared with determination.

The head of a small, dark-haired woman perked up from behind the counter. “Dear? Adri- Marinette?! What-” She scurried over to hold her daughter's face in her hand, check her forehead, her pulse, and other things mothers do.

“Oh, sweetie, oh my goodness, WHAT HAPPENED?!” Mrs. Cheng turned on Adrien, demanding to know why her precious daughter was bruised up with blood pouring down her face. 

Adrien stuttered at first, but he cared just as much about Marinette and matched her determination, “There was an accident. Marinette was involved, and luckily, I was there and got her home.”

Sabine’s eyes widened and she stepped back, and Adrien could practically feel the wave of realization overtaking her. “My… husband.”

She held her head and looked faint, ‘He… went to go pick up.... Mar…” She fell forward slightly and out of instinct, Adrien threw Marinette over his shoulder and latched onto her with one hand while the other caught Sabine. 

“Mrs. Cheng! Are you okay? You look ill, you should sit down.” Clearly the shock was consuming her, too. She nodded and Adrien helped her to one of the dining chairs. 

Marinette let out a soft sob and he was instantly filled with that same worried protectiveness again. He pulled her down into his arms again and her blue eyes filled with tears once more. 

Sabine looked broken. Marinette was broken. Adrien didn’t know what to do. He felt completely helpless. He wanted to sit down, too, and cry with them, for he, too, had seen the body and he, too, cared a whole lot about that man. And his daughter.

His eyes stung, but he turned his gaze down at the girl he held. Even in her darkest place she looked beautiful. She was so strong, but she couldn’t be strong right now. It was all too much. 

Adrien realized that he couldn’t bear to see her like this anymore, so without hesitation, he took action.

Her feet touched the ground as he gently set her down. She wobbled a little bit, but Adrien took her shoulders in his hands. “Mare.” Tears continued to roll down her face and her body never stopped shaking.

“Mare please.”

He so badly just wanted to say something or do something that would bring her back to him.

He took a much needed deep breath and looked her in the eyes, “Hey,” he murmured, “Look at me.”

She sniffed and looked at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and the blue didn’t contrast well with the red. Her navy locks slid down her face, but she didn’t seem to notice, nor care. 

He softly and swiftly brushed the hair away from her eyes, noticing the clicheness of his actions and blushing. He led her to a seat by her mother and dashed behind the counter, looking around.

He came back to the pair and set down a box of crackers and two glasses of water. “Sorry it’s not much, this was all I could find down here, and I didn’t want to barge into your home. 

He found his way to the seat across from them and stared awkwardly. Both Marinette and her mother were focusing on nothing, their eyes staring off into space. Sabine had the same dead look her daughter had had, with a permanent look of shock and disbelief plastered across her face. 

Marinette on the other hand, looked a bit different. Adrien could tell that the gears in her brain had just barely started to turn. Not enough to break her out of her shock (he had a feeling it would last quite a while), but enough for her to finally understand what happened. 

Her eyebrows were slightly more furrowed than before and her eyes told more of a story. Flicking across the colorful, gold tiles, then to her feet, then the table, then back to the tiles. Her mouth twitched, and it hung open a bit, but her entire body was stiff as a board. 

Adrien noticed her arm laying on the table near him, and wanted to reach out and hold it. Was it too soon? How would she react if he touched her? How would she react if she had any kind of human contact at all?

When his mother passed away, him and his father reacted in very different ways. His dad was quiet, and a little too calm. He’d locked himself away in his room, which was one of the only similarities between his and his son’s reaction. You would expect Mr. Agreste to throw a temper tantrum and completely shut down and release a shockwave of rage and sorrow. He didn’t. But his son sure did.

Adrien kicked and punched at furniture, screamed and wailed and barricaded his door so Nathalie would leave him alone. The overwhelming feeling of confinement overtook him, so he ripped away the barricade and tore past a very concerned Nathalie. He burst through the manor doors and took off running down the streets of Paris, on a suitably stormy day much like today. 

Adrien shook himself out of his torturous memory, and watched Marinette, now filled with the same raw emotion that she was. He could almost hear her thoughts, he understood how she felt and what was going through her head. Oh, the horrible, dark, and dangerous thoughts she must be having. He had to protect her. He couldn’t let her destroy herself the way he did himself. He couldn’t bear to watch the light seep out of her the way it seeped out of him years ago.

For a moment, he worried. How? How could he stop her if he couldn’t even stop himself? He felt hopeless.

But then for a moment, he remembered. 

He remembered that there was hope.

Because the light in him had come back. And it now shined bright for the ones he loved.

And it had come back, because of friends like Marientte. 

Friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Please leave a comment or a kudos, it really helps us writers create content for you!
> 
> For some reason I always navigate towards much more emotional stories, but something I really like to do is add bits of fluff and angst and romantic moments to help move the characters relationship along and also to keep your attention. I feel like if there's too much focus on all the drama, readers will get bored and/or skip to the romantic part. 
> 
> So I promise to keep the romance prominent and add fluffy, sweet moments throughout the story until they end up kissing or getting together or something monumental like that. 
> 
> And trust me, those parts will be good too.
> 
> SERIOUSLY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. 💗💗💗


	3. Chapter 3

The foosball table landed with a crash. Then his desk chair. Then there was a stomping up the stairs followed by CDs and books being thrown and obliterated. 

Adrien remembered what it was like when his mom died.

He was alone. And he struggled to accept the new life he was being shoved into. He knew what he was in for, and he couldn’t accept it. But it swallowed him whole and he was forcefully used to it soon enough. 

His father was quiet, and didn’t seem to care. Adrien knew he did, but it still hurt to be ignored and alone. No one had been there for him, except for Nathalie and his bodyguard of course, but besides them he was left alone to wallow in his sorrows.

Now he stared down at Marinette, curled up in the blankets of her bed, shivering and trying to sleep. 

Adrien knew exactly how she felt and what she was going through, and he was not going to let what had happened to him happen to her. He was going to be there for her. 

He sat at the edge of her bed, feeling quite awkward and a little stuck. Should he get leave? Say something? Hold her hand? Or is that weird?

He decided that he would tell her goodnight and leave to let her sleep. He wasn’t abandoning her. No, he was being there for her by leaving so that she could sleep. That’s the right thing to do. Right?

Ugh. 

His eyes traveled over her one last time and he sighed, “Goodnight, Marinette.” He turned to make his way towards the ladder, then hesitated. Maybe…

He flipped back around and leaned towards her face, lifting a hand to sweep the hair away from her forehead. Then he lowered his head and left a soft kiss on her forehead. His hand rested on the top of her head and his lips lingered on her skin maybe a moment too long. 

Then he quickly pulled away and nervously clamored across the mess of blankets to the ladder. He was about to drop to the ground when a soft hand grabbed his. 

One foot already down the ladder, he whipped his head around in surprise and saw a sleepy, bleary-eyed Marinette holding his hand. His face softened, giving her a small smile and squeezed her hand, thinking she just needed a little extra comfort before he left, and he was happy to oblige.

But the surprise returned to his face when she yanked him back, with an unexpected amount of strength, towards where she sat. “Wha-” His question was muffled by the blankets when he suddenly landed on her legs. He immediately pushed himself up, face flushed, “Ah! I’m so sorry!” They were closer now. He had landed at her knees and so his arms were on either side of her, one still holding Marinette’s hand. 

Worried he’d crushed her, he let go and frantically started babbling, “Oh my gosh, Marinette I’m so sorry, that was so inappropriate of me, I- I shouldn’t even be in your bed! Not that I don’t like it here I mean you’ve got a-a nice cozy atmosphere here, what am I saying?! That’s stupid I-I’m sor-”

His wide eyes locked on hers as she pressed a finger to his mouth and giggled, clearly amused. His heart did a fluttery thing at her giggle but it dropped as soon as the exhausted, sorrowful look returned to her face. She still held onto a sweet smile, though.

“Oh shut up,” she mumbled and he didn’t have time to say something or laugh back because she wrapped one arm around him and the other flew to the edge of the blanket to push it back. Then she pulled him down next to her against his will and trapped him in with the comforter. 

His face turned three shades darker, ‘’U-um, what are you doing?” He stared at her, watching her busy eyes flit around as she fixed the mess of blankets around them.

“I was cold,” she swung her legs on top of him and used the other one to pull him closer. This was so out of character. She must still be in shock. What does this mean? Duh, it doesn’t mean anything, she just said she was cold.

His thoughts whirred, but he ignored them because then she nuzzled her head into his neck and he was overwhelmed by adoration for her. The protectiveness that he was now very familiar with kicked in again and he gladly wrapped his arms around her. 

She wasn’t shivering anymore, thank goodness, but then her shoulders started to shake. He pulled away to look worryingly at her, “Are you okay?!” 

She didn’t look at him, “Yeah,” she chuckled softly, “I’m just… really grateful. For you, I mean.” 

She clung to him and his eyes stung. Was it possible for one’s heart to beat this fast? Oh no, could she hear it? She probably could. Shit.

His whole body felt warm and he just wanted to hug her and hold her closer, so that’s what he did. One hand slid into her hair and the other cradled her back. She cried into him, once again releasing all her pain and gratitude and whatever else she’d been holding in. He suddenly had to resist the urge to kiss her forehead again, or tangle his legs her hers, or rub her back. That seemed weird. She was just a friend after all.

Oh.

Oh that felt weird.

. . .

He forced his eyes open to find himself in a room that wasn’t his. Adrien then remembered what had happened and groaned, releasing Marinette hair and reaching around her head to rub his eyes.

Oh right, Marinette. He inwardly chuckled because he was quite pleased with this scenario. Marinette was cuddled into him with her legs over his, her arm on his torso and her head in his neck, snoozing away. 

He had grown to really like her these past few years. Well, he’s always liked her but he’s recently noticed some of her more hidden quirks, like the way she swirls her ankle while she’s doodling at her desk in class. Or the way that unintentionally rolls her eyes out of habit whenever Chloe or Lila do literally anything. He’d always found them amusing and quite cute if he was being honest.

After begrudgingly getting up and tucking Marinette in (who was NOT happy about him leaving), Adrien had sleepily found his way down to the bakery where Sabine was staring at her phone which was rapidly buzzing.

She glanced up at him. He could see the dozens of emotions welling up in her eyes as she got up and walked towards him. Before he had time to prepare for it, Sabine crushed him in a hug. He didn’t need to say anything, he understood.

He hugged her back and they shared equal gratitude with each other. Sabine muttered a simple, “Thank you” and when she pulled away Adrien could see the tears flowing over her already tear-stained face.

He nodded, “I’ll always be here. OKay? Just call me if you need anything and I’ll be here.”

She returned the gesture with a sad smile. 

The rain pounded his face which made it quite difficult to see, but one he was outside the Dupain-Cheng bakery, he turned around to squint at Marinette’s bedroom window.

No light shone through, and he knew she had stayed asleep. And part of him, well, a huge part of him, wanted to run back up to her, climb under the covers and stay with her for the rest of the night. 

He didn’t, but oh how his heart fluttered. 

**Author's Note:**

> So... how'd you like it? Please let me know in the comment, I can't wait to hear your feedback!


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